A man caught with bolt cutters stuffed down his pants and a set of knuckle dusters has avoided an immediate jail term after a pre-dawn prowl through a Hobart carpark.
Jake Raymond Phillips, 25, was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania after pleading guilty to being prepared for the commission of a crime, perverting the course of justice and unlawfully possessing a dangerous article.
Police were called to the Doone Kennedy Hobart Aquatic Centre carpark at 6:20am on November 5, 2025, after reports of a man trying to open car doors and acting suspiciously.
The man was described as wearing dark camouflage pants, a blue hooded jumper, a baseball cap and a face covering.
Officers stopped Phillips on Collins Street 20 minutes later. He matched the description.
A search uncovered bolt cutters tucked into the waistband of his trousers, a set of knuckle dusters and a glass-breaking car safety tool.
Phillips told police the tools were for his own scooter. He claimed the knuckle dusters were “in case someone wants to hurt me”.
He gave police a false name and was arrested and bailed under that name.
Phillips kept up the lie at the police station, identifying himself using the false name several times, including while being fingerprinted.
He provided a false date of birth on the bail paperwork and said he had no fixed address before signing the document.
Phillips later admitted he had not corrected the details because he “thought he might have got away with the offences”.
Justice Stephen Estcourt said perverting the course of justice was a serious offence because it “strikes at the integrity of the justice system”.
He handed Phillips a six-month prison sentence, wholly suspended on the condition he commits no imprisonable offence for 12 months.
